In the Studio

Spent the morning working on a painting and I’m almost finished! Hallelujah!

Later I played around with a couple of new ideas I wanted to try.  As with all things, especially related to art, there are no guarantees.

After a couple of hours I finally had one painting which kind of worked for me. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I had fun creating it

“Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the Phoenix.” – Christina Baldwin

“It’s best to have failure happen early in life. It wakes up the Phoenix Bird in you so you can rise from the ashes.” – Anne Baxter

Raven Woman

I’ve been working on this painting for a week or so and it’s almost done. The woman here represents a shape-changer, a being which has the power to alter form and bring about great changes in people’s lives.

In her human form she enters an ecstatic state in order to travel away from this reality into the invisible realms which are dream like, flowing, fluid worlds, where time ceases to exist. A place where every nuance, thought, and transformation takes place in the blink of an eye.

The spirit of the raven watches over her, protecting and guiding her through this place between heaven and earth, teaching her various ways to heal her people, as well as how to see through false forms, lies, and tricks of others. Mostly the raven teaches her how to appreciate the humor in life.

Raven – Combined Medium – 8 X 10 inches

“She perches upon the threshold of the worlds, both flesh and spirit” … – Brenna Gwyn

Work In Progress – Book Cover

Today I was able to work on the altered book cover from a previous post. I started by painting and collaging some art paper, tree bark, and attached a porcelain head to the book cover.

One thing led to another and the piece started taking on a life of it’s own. Although it is not as I first envisioned it, I sort of like the direction the work is taking. The woman’s dress color will likely be altered, and some mysterious creatures added to the mix.

My overactive imagination has swept me into the magical realms of the deep forest where all sorts of mythical creatures dwell. Where will it all lead?

Painting all Day

This morning I awoke to the sound of the soft cooing of the mourning dove. Such a sweet, yet mournful voice, a sound to stir one’s soul. I finally got up and grabbed a cup of coffee and began my day.

I started painting and sketching, and after much deliberation of which of the swan sketches to use in my painting “The Swan Maiden,” I finally made my choice and began adding them to the canvas. All and all it was a good day!

Daybreak– Combined Media on Canvas – 11 X 14 inches

The Buddha Within

I finished The Buddha Within, and here are a couple of close up photos.

Reflections Of The Inner Spirit Series

The Buddha Within
Rose Arizmendi (C) 2008

Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas

16 x 20 inches

Kuan Yin & Golden Fluid Acrylics

I spent most of the day working on my painting of Kuan Yin , layering in watercolor, golden fluid acrylics, acrylic inks, and also used Golden’s Iridescent Bright Gold (fine) on the bamboo leaves.

The picture below is a closeup of Kuan Yin’s face so you can see how tissue and rice paper have added texture to the canvas.

Kuan Yin

“Hope is the dream of a soul awake”.
-French Proverb

New Water Mixable oils

My new Winsor & Newton water mixable oil color set came today! This is so exciting because no hazardous solvents are required in order to use them.

I gave up oil painting years ago because of allergies and these new water mixable oils just may be the answer to my prayers.

Today I worked on the Collage Painting “Dream Thyme”, I sanded some areas and collaged a key to the text about how dreams heal our body, mind, and spirit. The moon and the background still need a little more work and then it will be finished.

Dream Thyme

We crave a world of either/or, but the Dream says, Both/and. We build a wall between our social persona and our inner selves; the Dream bids us, Demolish it. We wish to believe we’re separate from one another, but the Dream insists, We are in this together. We are pleased to believe Time is a one-way river from past to present to future, yet the Dream reveals, All three times flow into one. We wish to seek pure virtue and avoid all stain, but the Dream avers, The dark and the light are braided and bound.
-Marc Barasch, Healing Dreams

Try, Try Again

This morning as I was preparing for another day in the studio, I remembered there were some old canvases stored behind the kitchen door so I took a look to see what was there.

I found an old painting that would be perfect for a collage piece and I’m eager to begin working on it.

It was one of my first explorations into the world of acrylic painting and I became so frustrated with the medium and how fast the paint dried, that afterwards I put it in ‘the garbage out’, pile.

I’m so glad I didn’t throw it out and I have the chance to salvage this piece.

Spring Unsprung

Reflections Of The Inner Spirit

Today I worked some more on “Reflections of the Inner Spirit” collage, I proceeded to paint, stamp, and sandpaper the surface until late afternoon, when I suddenly realized it was time to stop.

Tomorrow I will be embellishing the piece with whatever is needed to finish the work. Whew! I’m tired, and it’s time for me to kick back and relax for awhile!

Reflections of the Inner Spirit
(The Buddha Within)

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

C’est La Vie

This morning my art table was covered with paint, paper, gel medium and gesso, so I cleaned it up a bit before concentrating on the new piece I wanted to work on today.

I continued working this afternoon in the studio until around dinner time. Having finished some areas that needed more work, I decided it was time to quit for the day, and began cleaning up my work area.

There is something so wonderful about getting your fingers all sticky with acrylic paint and gel medium, except when you notice you have managed to get some of it on the sleeve of your favorite sweater.

Oh well, C’est la vie. The most important thing is I did what needed to be done and had fun doing it.

Sunny Afternoon

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. -Unknown